Mikrophonie (Stockhausen)
Mikrophonie is the title given by Karlheinz Stockhausen to two of his compositions, written in 1964 and 1965, in which "normally inaudible vibrations ... are made audible by an active process of sound detection (comparable to the auscultation of a body by a physician); the microphone is used actively as a musical instrument, in contrast to its former passive function of reproducing sounds as faithfully as possible".[1]
Together with Stockhausen's immediately preceding work Mixtur, for five orchestra groups, four sine-wave generators, four ring modulators, they form a triptych of live-electronic works, where electronic transformations are accomplished during the performance (as opposed to studio-produced electronic music on tape). Similar to a group of three of the composer's works from the previous decade, Gruppen, Zeitmaße, and Gesang der Jünglinge, there is one work each for orchestral, chamber, and vocal forces.
Two recorded performances of Mikrophonie I by the Stockhausen ensemble have been released, but only one of Mikrophonie II, though the two compositions have always appeared together, on different labels and in different formats. The performers in the two versions of Mikrophonie I (both of the Brussels Version 1964) are:
The performers in Mikrophonie II are: Members of the WDR Choir and of the Studio Choir for New Music, Cologne, cond. Herbert Schernus; Alfons Kontarsky, Hammond organ; Johannes G. Fritsch, timer; Karlheinz Stockhausen, sound projection. (Recorded 10 June 1965).
The releases with the second performance of Mikrophonie I are:
The release with the earlier performance of Mikrophonie I is:
A more recent version has been released on: